“Off and Running: Opportunity of a Lifetime” first appeared on  PoliticalAffairs.net on February 6, 2009. Read it on PoliticalAffairs.net.

I was standing on the Washington Mall on Inauguration Day, alongside nearly two million other people on Inauguration Day, and proudly watched the first African American take the oath of office in our nation’s history. That alone made the day deeply memorable, joyful, and historic. But I couldn’t help but think – and I’m sure that millions of others had the same thought – that the transfer of power from Bush to President Obama not only tore down a barrier that once was thought near impenetrable, but also signified the fading away of one era and the beginning of another. 

“Finances and the Current Crisis: How did we get here and what is the way out?” first appeared on PoliticalAffairs.net on October 3, 2008. Read it on PoliticalAffairs.net.

If there were such a thing as a perfect economic storm, I would say we are close to it.

The housing crisis continues and shows no sign of ending; credit and money markets are either churning or freezing up; the stock market is gyrating; unemployment is leaping upward (sharply so in the communities of the nationally and racially oppressed); poverty is up and wages are down; oil and food prices are climbing; the value of the dollar is falling sharply compared to other currencies; the level of indebtedness is astronomical and will be difficult to unwind in the near term. And we sit on the edge of a financial collapse with all the accompanying dislocation and hardship that it would bring. 

“New Times, New Opportunities” first appeared on PoliticalAffairs.net on May 29, 2008. Read it on PoliticalAffairs.net.

Editor’s Note: Excerpted from CPUSA National Committee report, March 2008. Comments are welcome.

The political upsurge ricocheting across the country has no counterpart in recent decades. Its breadth and depth are remarkable. Its politics are progressive. It is framing the nation’s political conversation. It rejects the old racist and sexist stereotypes. It is a mass rebellion against the policies of the Bush administration. It is seeking a political leader – one who gives priority to “lunch pail” issues, appeals to our better angels and visualizes a country that is decent, just, united and at peace with the rest of the world. And it’s the necessary groundswell and kinetic energy for a smashing victory in November.

“Finances and the Current Crisis: How did we get here and what is the way out?, Pt. 2” first appeared on PoliticalAffairs.net on October 3, 2008. Read it on PoliticalAffairs.net.

The turmoil in financial markets and the bailout to the tune of $700 billion has turned the public eye and wrath on Wall Street and Washington. While millions are aware of the triggering causes, ranging from predatory lending to deregulation to insatiable greed, what isn’t so obvious is the longer-term process that brought our financial system and economy to the edge of the abyss. 

“Challenges and Opportunities in the 2008 Elections” first appeared on PoliticalAffairs.net on December 21, 2007. Read it on PoliticalAffairs.net.

Not every struggle carries the same political significance. Some leave little trace on the political landscape; others rearrange it extensively.

The decisive defeat of the Republican Party next year falls into the latter category. Much like the elections of 1936 and 1964 where Democrats won in a landslide, a similar Democratic victory next year will alter the political landscape in a positive direction and give new energy, confidence, and hope to the labor-led people’s movement, thereby setting the stage for progressive and radical reforms.